Members of the Butler County Chapter of the American Cancer Society celebrated the season together at a Christmas luncheon at Cambrian Ridge Wednesday.

The event was also an opportunity to spotlight some of the volunteers who had contributed to the success of the 2008 Relay For Life in the county, the organization’s signature fundraiser.

“The American Cancer Society would not be able to accomplish its goals without all of you who volunteer . . . and I want to recognize some of you today,” said Jessica Garrard, community representative for ACS.

Galahad Smith, Relay For Life chairman, received the Volunteerism Award.

Marie Owens, RFL sponsorship chair, was the recipient of the Advocacy Award while Hope Gibson, who served as teams chair, received the In-Kind Development Award.

Angie Long, RFL publicity chair, was the recipient of the Lighthouse Award for Best Print Media.

Garrard said Butler County was once again recognized as being in the top 20 per capita for 2007-2008 in fundraising. The county RFL exceeded its 2008 goal of $111,400 by more than $2,500.

The plan is to hit the ground running in early January for the 2009 Butler County RFL.

“This has been fun today. But the work starts in January,” Smith said.

“We have our first Team Captains meeting set for January 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the YMCA and we hope to see a really good turnout there.”

The 2009 Relay For Life, “Rustlin’ For A Cure,” is set for May 9 and 10 from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. at the Greenville YMCA football field.